Board
Tonhain Kollektiv e.V. is a newly founded group of young, dynamic musicians who have set themselves the goal of revolutionizing the chamber music scene in Berlin. Their interdisciplinary concert formats, carefully selected works that reflect the pulse of our time and society, and use of digital possibilities set new standards for chamber music of the highest artistic quality. The Tonhain Collective opens the doors to a young, diverse audience and transports them to an unparalleled experience that reinterprets the traditions of chamber music. The collective's board members are all world-class young musicians, winners of international competitions and graduates of the world's leading universities. The board of trustees includes professors from German music academies and board members from renowned cultural institutions such as Stiftung Podium Esslingen and Metamorphosen Berlin. Read on to learn more about the individual members.
Benjamin Lai
1st chairperson
Taiwanese-American cellist Benjamin Lai was born in California and received his first cello lessons at the age of four from Mikhail Gelfandbein, a former student of Mstislav Rostropovich. At the age of 14 he moved alone to Berlin, where he was accepted as a young student in the class of Prof. Jens Peter Maintz. After graduating from high school, Benjamin studied with Prof. Heinrich Schiff in Vienna, Prof. Julian Steckel in Munich and Prof. Troels Svane in Lübeck. Since April 2024, Benjamin has been teaching at the Lübeck Academy of Music.
Benjamin Lai attended master classes by Janos Starker, Yo-Yo Ma, David Geringas, Natalia Gutman, Frans Helmerson and Miklos Perenyi, among others. As a prize winner of numerous international cello competitions (Popper, Dotzauer, Hindemith, TONALi Grand Prix, Janigro), Benjamin has performed at prestigious venues such as the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg and the Musikverein in Vienna. An avid chamber musician, he has been invited to music festivals such as Music Campus Rhein Main, Kissinger Sommer, Usedomer Musikfestival and Gezeitenkonzerte and since August 2024 he is a member of the multi-award-winning Notos Quartett.
Benjamin plays a cello by Domenico Montagnana ("ex-Olevsky", Venice 1735).
Yehjin Chun
2nd chairperson
The South Korean cellist Yehjin Chun began playing the cello at the age of five. From the age of 16, she studied with Konstantin Heidrich at the Berlin University of the Arts, where she subsequently continued her studies with Jens Peter Maintz. In summer 2021, she completed her concert exam at the Weimar University of Music with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. In addition to her studies, she received further musical inspiration from David Geringas, Heinrich Schiff and Christian Poltéra. She has won several prizes at national and international competitions and reached the final of the International Isang Yun Competition in 2018, where she was also awarded the Seong-Yawng Park Special Prize. As a soloist, she has performed with orchestras such as the Thuringia Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tongyeong Festival Orchestra. She is currently a regular member (solo cello) of the Kammerphilharmonie Metamorphosen Berlin. She plays a cello by Giovanni Grancino, Milan 1705.
Rainer Crosett
Treasurer
American cellist Rainer Crosett performs throughout the U.S. and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. As a recipient of the 2018 Pierre Fournier Award, he made his recital debut at Wigmore Hall and his concerto debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London. A passionate chamber musician, he regularly performs at festivals such as Yellow Barn, the Perlman Music Program, Prussia Cove, the Trondheim Chamber Music Festival, and Music@Menlo. In recent years he has performed with renowned musicians such as Robert Levin, Laurence Lesser, Donald Weilerstein, Cho-Liang Lin, the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, and Kim Kashkashian. In 2014 he co-founded Project LENS, an interdisciplinary ensemble in Boston, USA. Rainer is a graduate of Harvard College (A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy) and is currently completing studies at the Berlin University of the Arts with Prof. Jens Peter Maintz.
Leonard Disselhorst
Board member
Leonard Disselhorst completed early studies at the Musikhochschule Hannover, studied at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe with Prof. Martin Ostertag and at the Universität der Künste Berlin with Prof. Jens Peter Maintz. His musical education was further complemented by studies with the Artemis Quartet and Günter Pichler. Leonard was a member of the German National Youth Orchestra and has played under conductors such as Sir Dennis R. Davies and Sir Simon Rattle. He is an active soloist and chamber musician at home and abroad. Leonard has won several prizes, including 1st prize and all special prizes at the prestigious Concours de Genève. He is a founding member of the vision string quartet, which was awarded the OPUS KLASSIK in 2020 for its debut CD released by Warner. The album SPECTRUM followed in September 2021, with original compositions and arrangements of folk, pop, rock, funk, minimal and singer-songwriter music. Leonard plays on a cello by Gaetano Antoniazzi, Milan 1892.
Luke Hsu
Board member
Luke Hsu, an award-winning violinist, composer, and VC Young Artist (Violin Channel), has been hailed by the Montreal Gazette as an artist "in his own class with complete mastery of the instrument." He has been awarded prizes in many prestigious violin competitions, including Laureate of the 2019 Queen Elisabeth Competition. As a soloist and recitalist, Luke performs in halls such as Wigmore Hall London and the Kennedy Center Washington D.C., among others, and with numerous orchestras around the world, including the "Orchestre National de la Belgique."